John Nicholson, executive director of the Kentucky Horse Park since June 1, 1997, has announced his retirement, effective April 30. Nicholson is the longest-serving executive director of the Kentucky Horse Park in its 35-year history and has served at its helm during its greatest period of growth, garnering worldwide recognition for the facility.

“With our recent 35th anniversary, I started to think about my own history with the park and all that we have accomplished during this tenure,” Nicholson said. “It has been a difficult decision to consider retirement because I love the park and highly value the team of people I work with, but after 17 years, this is the right time for the park and for me personally. I am looking forward to exploring new opportunities. I leave knowing that the park is now a serious and relevant player in equestrian sport around the world, and that it provides an international calling card for Kentucky, not just in attracting and hosting major events, but also acting as an important cultural and economic driver for the commonwealth.”

Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear said, “Jane and I thank John for his hard work and devotion to the Commonwealth throughout his tenure at the Kentucky Horse Park over the last 20-plus years. His leadership has made the horse park an international destination for visitors across the globe. As president of its foundation, he helped make the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games a tremendous success for Kentucky. We wish him all the best in the next chapter of his life.”

Under Nicholson’s leadership, the Kentucky Horse Park has a long list of notable achievements, crowned by the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. Nicholson spearheaded a multi-year effort by the Kentucky Horse Park, the commonwealth of Kentucky, local government, and private partnerships to win the United States’ bid to host the World Equestrian Games. The games, which are the world championships for eight equestrian disciplines, had never been held outside of Europe. Nicholson served on the board of the World Games 2010 Foundation which organized the event, televised internationally to 500 million viewers, and had an economic impact of $201.5 million on the state’s economy